


Old habits - A SWTOR FAN STORY

by Alien_elli



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-14
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:20:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25259119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alien_elli/pseuds/Alien_elli
Summary: After the events of Onslaugth a monotone atmosphere has taken over the commanders life. With a new project on the rise the threads to the empire are on their loose. Are her actions justified?
Relationships: Lana Beniko/Female Bounty Hunter
Kudos: 6





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> *SPOILERS FOR EVERTHING AFTER SoR*  
> \- This story is set after Onslaugth. It's important to note though, that I will sometimes describe various things, like they were before KOTET  
> \- female bounty hunter: Lac'ra  
> \- Lana's and Lac'ra's relationship is more or less a flirtatious one; nothing servearly romantic happened yet.
> 
> This project is more or less out of spite, because I had a glitch, that didn't show me the proposal scene after Nahema. I also wanted more content so there is that. 
> 
> I never wrote fanfiction before and my first language is german, so please be kind :)

“Where is the commander?” Lana asked in a severe tone, walking steadily into the alliance base. The whole room was nearly empty – besides a few soldiers, guards, and electricians to maintain the consoles and automatic doors. Everyone seemed occupied and they didn’t even hear her at first. While some of the personnel glanced at her and shrugged their shoulders at the question, most of them just went on with their work without reacting at all.  
Lana now stood in the middle of the room. Fully grasping the atmosphere around her. There were flickering lights and sparking cables from the electrician’s work. A smell of wet stone and a humid climate was recognisable. Even if the alliance did a good job in building the base on Odessen, it still smelled like a cave sometimes. Especially on hot days.  
-  
“No one? No one knows where she is?” She rolled her eyes, now inpatient and hurried further into the base - into the hangar. In contrast to the main hall everyone seemed to be there. Not high-ranking soldiers or any of the commander’s allies of course. (They were occupied with a new lead on the missing Satele Shan and the other Jedi.) Instead a few dozen pilots, smugglers, and bounty hunters gathered in groups and discussed seemingly important missions. ‘It’s probably about provisions and cargo’ Lana thought, though interested in why there where so many task forces on mission.  
“You!”, she picked out one pilot – knowing, that they have already worked with the alliance many times - “What is going on here?” she asked, scaring the shit out of them. A wrench fell out of their hand, onto the floor, while the pilot nearly stumbled into their machine, looking pale. “I- I’m sorry, I didn’t see you coming.” they stuttered, picking up the tool and straightening themselves. “No worries.” Lana encountered, starring expectantly into the pilot’s eyes. “W- we’re preparing for a big cargo from Dantooine” they said, now relaxing a bit. “I figured that much.” she stated with an annoyed but steady voice, looking around the hangar to other pilots and their ships. “But why so many pilots? And since when do we need mercenaries for simple cargo shipments?”  
The pilot seemed confused; not nervous or afraid anymore but looked at Lana with a trace of suspiciousness. “You- you don’t know? The commander made a deal with some vendors on Mek-sha. As far as we know, we’re supposed to bring the cargo from Dantooine here to Odessen, while she sorts out the details. The mercenaries know the best routes to avoid any pirates or potential encounters with republic ships. They also have a few contacts on the marked.” The pilot explained.  
“And where is the commander now?” Lana asked, after a few moments of disbelieve and wide yellow eyes, glaring in the pilot’s direction. “I-I guess she’s on her ship, getting ready to-“ but before they could end their sentence Lana darted into the lift and made her way down to the commanders ship, ready to speak out her mind.  
-  
‘Why didn’t she say anything? It’s not like she’s the only one, who runs this place..’ Lana thought, waiting impatiently for the lift to set on the sublevel. Arms crossed, leaning all her weight on one leg, she stood there while sounds of magnetic fields and metal surrounded her, leaving nothing but the feeling of enclosure. ‘If there was an official shipment incoming, I would know about that. – Unless it isn’t official’ further thoughts aggravated the tense situation. ‘Why would she risk our relation to the Empire like that?’  
The lift stopped. ‘Stupid hunter’ were the final words echoing in her head before she exited onto the landing platform, to the commander’s ship.  
The commander wasn’t there, at least not outside of the ship itself; though the engines weren’t on yet. Lana made her way over the bridge, that connected the sublevel of the alliance base with the landing platform, to the ship. Still tense and basically fuming with rage now.  
The vessel was a D5-Mantis. An old and stolen ship from Dromund Kaas. Although the ship itself didn’t look like much, Lana knew, that it meant a lot to the commander. She had it since the beginning of the “Great Hunt”, accompanied her and her companions and served as shelter in the deep, cold darkness, that was space.  
By the time she got there, the door opened. 2V-R8 exited the ship and nearly bumped into the Sith. “Oh! I-am-sorry-Lady-Beniko. I-hope-I-did-not-damage-any-important-parts. Please-do-not-deactivate-me!”, the ship droid panicked. He quickly stepped back and attempted a salutation. “What is it with you droids and the constant fear of deactivation?” Lana encountered, still tensed up and annoyed. “Is the commander here?”, she asked, pushing 2V-R8 aside to get a free path onto the ship.  
“Oh-yes! I-did-not-realise-you-would-acompany-the-master-on-this-mission-Lady-Beniko.” he said, blocking the entrance yet again. “Yes, well- Me neither.” Lana answered, finally shoving the droid out of the way to enter the D5-Mantis.  
-  
The ship itself was packed with supplies, that would last for weeks. Food, clothing, amor and other cargo, that seemed exaggerated for a trading mission. No one else was on the ship – on the sublevel at least. It was pretty tidy for an old, stolen bounty hunter vessel. Regardless of her status as commander, Lac’ra wouldn’t want any unauthorised people on here, especially not that kind, that would misplace any of her equipment.  
Lana rolled her eyes and made her way up the stairs to the upper level, assuming Lac’ra was in the cockpit, calibrating the star map for Mek-sha. And indeed. Arriving in the Holo-room she heard noises coming from the front of the ship. The peeping and sliding got louder as she entered, stopping behind the commander, who apparently hadn’t noticed her yet. Lana watched her, while her grumpy frown cracked into a little smirk – even if only for a second, before she got Lac’ra’s attention with a loud cough.  
“SON OF A- “Lac’ra suddenly screamed, turning in horror to Lana and only then realising it was her. Bright yellow eyes starred in her direction and even if Lana’s scowl was everything other than calming, the commander quickly relaxed at her presence “-Hutt”.  
“Lana. I wasn’t exactly expecting you to come here. At least not before-“– “Yeah no kidding Lac’ra”, Lana interrupted her, while the commander stood there, trying to look confident. She continued: “What did you think would happen, if you suddenly left to get on a secret trading mission, on a planet – that by the way is currently a very significant trading partner of the empire, with whom we have an allyship that depends on not getting caught, when dealing with personal interest.” Lac’ra tried to answer but as she was attempting to start talking, Lana further said: “It wouldn’t be an issue, if you would’ve talked to any of us. If you would’ve told at least me, so we could plan and discuss the details together to avoid getting in trouble with the empire. Don’t just depart -with apparently enough rations on the ship to get by several weeks- and me having to get notified by a terrified pilot.”  
All of a sudden there was an uncomfortable silence between the two women. Lana finishing her little rant towards her commander made Lac’ra look unusually pale. She seemed indeed a little ashamed and turned her head towards the consoles on the right. After a few moments and a deep breath Lac’ra stood up and felt her blood rushing into her head again, straightening her back and looking Lana in her eyes. “To be honest, you do have an intimidating effect on people.”, she encountered with a smirk.  
She slowly strolled into the Holo-room, brushing Lana’s crossed arms with her own. Lana in contrast, wasn’t so eased about the situation, closed her eyes for a brief moment, took a breath and followed suit.  
“Don’t distract from the issue. You know that’s not how it’s supposed to be done.” Lac’ra now standing by the Holo-communicator, huffed at that statement. “Says the Sith of all people.” While she adjusted the coding on the Holo, Lana took a seat on one of the benches nearby. “Because a former Bounty Hunter is entitled to be judgmental.”, she now said in a relaxed and steady voice: “Look. I’m not here to discuss morals with you. I just want to know, what your plan is.” She looked in Lac’ra’s direction, waiting for an answer.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a little shorter than the last one but I just didn't want to ruin the moment. Hope you still enjoy it :)

“So, you decided to run off and live your old life as society’s doormat again?” Lana scuffed, sitting in the co-pilot’s chair next to Lac’ra, who was manoeuvring the ship out of the hangar into Odessen’s orbit. The commander explained, how her life as the leader of an alliance got her worked up, how it’s all too much for someone who never even thought about being near a position that requires a steady and monotone lifestyle. So, she made the decision to take on an assignment, that would make it possible to leave all that behind – even, if only for a few weeks. Lac’ra made a deal with one of the vendors on Mek-sha, who would handle the somewhat pricey goods and offered information and connections, within the empire as well as the republic, in return. The negotiations would only last for a few days, but she would take that advantage to take an even longer break from all the responsibility and monotony that was her life now.  
“It’s not like my life was awful. I enjoyed being independent, only having to care about my crew, ship, and my payments. Life as a bounty hunter was pretty neat. This mission might not be exactly what I was searching for, but it’s for sure something I need right now. – and I’m not saying that I’m turning down the position of commander for ever, I just need a little break.” Lac’ra now leaned into her seat, letting her arms fall into her lap, her gaze meeting Lana’s in a moment of silence. “And that doesn’t mean I want to cut ties with anything.. or anyone.” She reached out and laid her hand on Lana’s thigh, firmly with their eyes never breaking contact.  
Another moment passed. Lana felt Lac’ras resting hand on her leg, the warmth of her touch made her feel calm and relaxed. Made her feel home. All her surroundings suddenly felt so close and yet so far away and the only thing she could focus on were dark green eyes, starring right at her. That green, that would consume Lana like she was the only one to ever set eyes onto it. ‘..cut ties with .. anyone?’, she thought, thinking about the possible meaning.  
All those years together suddenly flashed right before her eyes. Their adventures starting on Manaan, Rishi and Yavin; exposing the order of Revan and traitors within the empire; working together with the Republic to defeat Emperor Valkorion and creating an alliance. They always had each other backs, always supported each other, when no one else could be trusted. They were partners and understood each other.  
Of course, there were some minor disagreements, when Lac’ra had gone rogue and Lana had to put up with her behaviour, or when the Sith would go full philosophical and talk about how the Jedi are hypocrites and Lac’ra would only roll her eyes at that. But they could get over it eventually. Together.  
Was that what Lac’ra meant? Would she never cut ties with someone because she would miss that life? Because she would miss her?  
-  
The moment ended as soon as it began. “And what about the empire? Have you planned on taking a break from them too? Because that’s what might happen, if they find out about your plans.” Lana’s voice sounded a bit unconcentrated and the words seemed to slip out a little too fast. It was yet enough for Lac’ra to take her hand away from Lana’s thigh and that prior gazing turned into an eyeroll, that ended with those dark green eyes focusing on the screen right in front of her.  
“No worries,” Lac’ra answered. “my contacts ensured me, that the empire has nothing to do with them. At least not officially. And If our ways do cross, I’m certain they have better things to do than to care about our side projects.” She could feel Lana’s stare on her.  
A few buttons lightened up and Lac’ra changed to the seat next to another control panel. Without letting her eyes drift away from it she continued: “So, unless you want me to drop you off on one of our ships or bring you back to the base I’m gonna enter hyperspace in a second.” She finally turned in her seat, her face as casual as always.  
Lana stood up, crossing her arms she encountered: “You don’t seriously think I’ll let you leave alone to go on a trade negotiation and complicate things further? I’m going with you.”


	3. Chapter 3

They sat there a little bit longer and watched the tunnel of hyperspace, just outside the cockpit window. The journey would take them across the galaxy into the unknown regions and ended right in an asteroid field, which consisted of a few mining and fuel stations, with Mek-Sha at its core. To avoid any unwanted guest, Lac’ra adjusted the route to travel around the core worlds of the Republic. It would take them longer – which was all in the commander’s interest – but also provided time to get Lana more intel on what was going on and what Lac’ras prior speech meant to her and their dynamic.

It was silent inside the ship. The two women still sitting beside each other. Not talking. It wasn’t an uneasy silence, it rather felt comfortable and familiar. The lights were dimmed, and the main source of illumination came from outside the windscreen. A quiet, satisfying rumble came from the engine and ventilation system, which was almost hypnotising.  
Minutes had passed, but it felt like a timeless state.

  
“All right. It seems like all is working in here.” Lac’ra stood up, slowly moving her hand away from Lana’s leg, almost hesitantly. Lana could feel the previously warm and safe touch go away and before the commander made her way to the door Lana reached out and nearly grasped it again. “Where are you going?” she asked instead, placing her arm back into her lab. “I’m not going to sit in that seat for 5 hours. Wouldn’t do that to my back.” Lac’ra encountered. “No. I’m going to make myself comfortable and enjoy the silence, I missed Oh-so-much in the last few months.” She pointed at the door and vanished right through it.

  
It didn’t take Lana a minute before she thought about following the commander. Since the D5-Mantis didn’t have a proper launching setting, the few benches in the holo-room had to make it and the Sith found Lac’ra – as expected – practically lying on them. They didn’t seem as comfortable as the commander said they would be though. “I thought you didn’t want to do that to your back.” Lana commented on the commander’s position.

  
“No, but since it would be impolite to just vanish in my quarters, I wanted to keep you company. It’s not that bad either. Just a little rough if you’re in the wrong pose.” Lac’ra answered, clearly fidgeting with her body to find a comfortable place yet having the strength to make a semi-confident face.

  
“You’re such an idiot.” Lana answered, heading straight to the stairs that lead to the lower deck. Lac’ra watched the Sith as she finally found herself in a normal sitting position on the bench. “And where are you going?” She had to practically yell since Lana was already on her way down. Lana’s stepping sounds got quieter until they turned into silence. ‘Right..’ the commander thought, wavering and trembling nervously with her leg. When she couldn’t endure it anymore, Lac’ra hasted down the stairs.

  
“Ok listen. I get that you’re angry at me for not telling you, but that doesn’t mean we have to act childish-“ she said when suddenly the ship started rumbling and the alarm got off. A bright red light flooded the room and both women had to hold onto the wall. Loud crashing and screeching sounds ran along the walls and smoke came out the engine room.  
“What was that?” Lana asked, slightly panicking and surprisingly overwhelmed. Lac’ra was also in alarm mode and couldn’t focus at first. She concentrated on Lana who seemed overthrown by her emotions and was confused by the uncommonly emotional state the Sith was in.

  
Holding onto the walls, with the ship still rumbling, Lac’ra made her way over to Lana. “You’re okay?” She asked, a hand holding onto Lana’s shoulder. “Yeah. It’s alright.” A reassuring glance met the commander’s eyes and Lana laid her hand onto the one touching her. “Good. I’m going to check on the engine. Can you make your way up to the cockpit?” She nodded and got up. “All right. Let’s see what’s up with you..”

  
Entering the engine room Lac’ra spotted 2V-R8 on the floor, his legs unable to get a hold on the shaking ground. “Hey! Droid!” She kneeled beside him and took his head into both hands, realising it was still functional. “Master! What-a-delight-to-see-you-healthy!” he encountered. “What happened? The engine isn’t working, and the alarm went off!”  
“I-assume-since-we-were-in-hyperspace-something-pulled-us-out-and-the-engine-overloaded.” the droid stated, with Lac’ra starring confusedly at his cold metallic head. “What do you mean ‘something pulled us out’?”, she let 2V-R8’s body fall back onto the floor and searched the engine’s control panel for more information.

  
The lights were still flickering in alarming red tones and the loud noise didn’t end until Lac’ra turned it off. When everything went silent and the commander concentrated on the panel, the droid’s theory proved itself right. “[ENGINE OVERLOAD]” was written on the top screen and the automatic cooling system was activated. “What, in Mand’alor’s name, can interfere with hyperspace like that?”, she said to herself – when the sound of hot air, exhausting from the decompression ventils, startled her for a brief moment.

  
“Commander!” she heard Lana’s voice from upstairs. Lac’ra rushed to the cockpit, with a data-pen extracted from the machines lock book. When she arrived, the first thing she noticed was the consuming darkness outside the windshield. No star was visible at first. Lana held her gaze on the upper window and waited until the commander got further into her direction. “Why do I have the feeling, that this has something to do with our situation?” she now looked at Lac’ra with an annoyed glance.

  
Outside was a gigantic ship, blocking the stars with its enormous metallic corps. It looked old, empty. Rustic even. The distance to the D5-Mantis decreased exponentially. “No-no-no-no-no!” the commander stressed, taking over the controls manually. “We’re in a tractor beam!” Lana encountered, when not even Lac’ra could escape the gravitational force and the Mantis got further pulled into the ship’s hangar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uhuhu! What do we have here? :D  
> I wanted to bring some action into the story, so that it's not only romantic-cringe. Can you guess where I found my inspiration for the mysterious ship? ;)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that it's been so long. In case anyone even follows anymore.

The Mantis disappeared into the shadows of the mysterious ship. Into the darkness, emptiness, that was the uncertainty of not knowing who - or what - was behind the new threat. The tractor beam wasn’t at its full strength, making the approach to the hanger long lasting and intimidating; a sinister energy vibrated of the vessel, as if it were consumed by darkness. Every second they drew nearer, this energy got stronger and more powerful.

Overwhelmed by the situation, Lana and the commander stood by the windshield, looking into the void of the hangar. The D5-Mantis set, and a loud, dull sound inflated the empty space. No soul was in sight. Only the consuming darkness.

A sudden pain stroke through Lana’s head. She held onto the chair in front of her with a strong grip and nearly sank onto the ground, letting out a sharp cry of pain. “Lana!”, Lac’ra reacted quickly, steadying the Sith before sinking onto the floor with her. “What happened? Is everything all right?”, she asked concerningly. Before Lana could answer a trail of lights switched on outside the Mantis, creating a path further inside the darkness.

Lac’ra could hear steps coming closer. _Were there three people? Five?_ A group of silhouettes approached them, yet not near enough to make out the total number. In the front row one person, suddenly stopping in their tracks, sending the rest of them further towards the ship. “Who are those people?” Lac’ra asked herself, helping Lana onto a seat while she was recovering from whatever made her break down.

The figures were now barely visible in the remaining dim lights of the Mantis. They had armour, looking rusty and old, covered in dark cloaks that hid their faces. Lac’ra could’ve sworn she saw a glimpse of one of them. _Had they masks underneath their hoods?_

A shrill welding sound filled the cockpit, the floor underneath vibrating so that every bone would feel the waves, traveling through the body. “They’re coming!” Lac’ra closed the cockpit door, crabbed her blasters and kneeled in position next to Lana, who just felt fit enough to realise what was going on. “D-don’t… fight.. back.” She warned Lac’ra. “We have to do something Lana! I’m not going to give up that easily.” Lac’ra pointed with her blasters toward the closed off door, focusing on the heavy steps just outside. All of a sudden, they stopped. Silence.

A click broke the tense moment. Gas filled the room as a glaring light cut through the door. Lac’ra could feel herself getting dizzy, as the gas thickened around her, barely noticing her surroundings. “Lan-“ she tried grabbing Lana’s hand, but all she could hear were the sounds of heavy armour, exhausting gas, and a few heavy words, coming from Lana’s lips: “Darkness.. I know that- darkness.”. 

Everything went black.

Lac’ra couldn’t feel anything, couldn’t hear anything. She was trapped inside her mind. She knew it was the effects of the gas, flooding the cockpit. At least she hoped it would be. Ever since the five years that she spent thanks to Arcann in carbonite, her dreams would sometimes bring her back to her mind palace – as she called it. Even if it was too nice a word to truly capture the emotions it evoked in her. 

It wasn’t like back then. She wouldn’t be able to see someone or interact with anything in particular. Lac’ra would just stand there and watch. Watch the darkness and feel the cold embracing her body. As she would wake up again, goosebumps would run along her arms and legs, as if the location in her dreams wasn’t just in her mind. She wouldn’t want anyone to endure that feeling. But as she realised, that this time wasn’t because of a simple dream, but because of unknown people capturing her and Lana, not knowing where she was, she wished to have Lana by her side. To at least know if she was all right.

 _No, we’ve been through too much. She’s stronger than that,_ Lac’ra thought. But the overwhelming feeling inside of her grew even more as she couldn’t escape that thought. Her mind palace felt even darker than before. Tighter than before. She wished it would just end. That she could wake up.

Hours passed by – or so it felt anyway – when the illusion crumbled and Lac’ra could feel her laying on a cold, hard, metallic surface. Her eyes still closed and her hands tied up. A mix of exhaustion and soreness making it difficult to think or even to wake up entirely. But she could feel a presence near her.

_Is someone there?_

Lac’ra wanted to call out into the room, though her lungs not even providing enough volume to form a single tone. Mumbling was the only sound that escaped her mouth. While she tried to wriggle herself to a near wall or at least something to get a hold on, her eyes began to see light. Glaring red light right in front of her, as she managed to sit up right. Behind, a silhouette leaning on a wall.

The commander’s eyes slowly recovered from the side effects of the gas as she realised, that the glaring red light was the barrier of a holding cell. An old model, to be precise. She now kneeled on the floor trying to figure out, who stood there, watching Lac’ra like she was an animal in a cage. Her voice still crackling but at least functioning she now asked: “Who are you?” But the figure didn’t answer.

Instead, they came closer to the holding cell. Step by step. As if their silence wasn’t dramatic enough, the figure now stood right in front of the red barrier, looking down on Lac’ra, who now slowly lifted her head to meet the eyes, that preyed on her just a minute ago.

In front of her stood a woman – probably a little older than Lac’ra herself – her head tilted down but the rest of her body straight and steady. She folded her arms and muscles started defining on her bare forearms, though elegant and smooth. Her eyes glowing orange, transitioning into red as seen only in the eyes of the people committing to the dark side.

 _Is she a Sith?_ The commander asked herself, sensing the effect the woman’s intense glare had on her.

“Me?”, she finally answered, now kneeling down to get on Lac’ra’s level. “I’m just an old friend.” A smile had built on her face, as she further inspected the commanders humiliating state, seemingly enjoying her torment. “I had my fair share with people like you, but I would recall, if we’ve met already.”, she contradicted. The woman now stood up again, her back facing the holding cell Lac’ra was inside of. She slowly walked away, presumably to the exit of the room, snickering to herself. As she reached to door, she took a short halt, turning her head a little over her shoulder to get a view of the woman in the cell: “People like me?” She paused. “Sith.” Came from inside the room. A short laughter.

“I didn’t live a lie, fabricated by people who’d rather see themselves destroyed than acknowledging deficiencies in their philosophy.” She paused. “Lana may have spent her life as the empires puppet, but that’s not my way. I’m nothing like them.”


End file.
